Operational Excellence is Driven by Leadership, People Development, and Daily Discipline

Most companies chase operational perfection as if it were a formula: tighten the process, hit the metrics, repeat. But great operations are powered by people, not process. True excellence comes from daily discipline, consistency, and the kind of leadership that develops others before measuring them.

We spoke with Mo Ramadan, a senior-level executive whose career is a study in this people-first philosophy. His authority is built on a track record of leading vast operations, currently as a Sr. Regional Director of Operations at automotive services provider Driven Brands and previously in senior roles at major companies like Target, Dollar General, and Bargain Hunt. Ramadan has honed his expertise in startup, turnaround, and rapid-growth environments, and for him, the path to success begins with valuing leaders who know how to develop people over those who simply have experience.

"Leadership is like planting a tree. It doesn’t sprout overnight. It takes patience, steady reminders, and diligent follow-up. Understanding equals execution, and when your team doesn’t grasp the 'why,' they start to interpret, and that’s when things go sideways," Ramadan says. For him, daily discipline goes beyond checking boxes or enforcing rules. It means cultivating clarity and accountability so every person moves with shared purpose. When leaders take time to connect the dots, direction turns into conviction and excellence becomes repeatable.

• Hire for heart: Ramadan's hiring strategy starts with one question: can this person grow others? For him, that ability is the true foundation of leadership and the difference between managing a team and inspiring one. "I look for people who are proven people developers. The operational experience can be taught, but you can't teach commitment, heart, and the desire to succeed. Successful people have an innate drive."

• Experience not required: His focus on character is a principle grounded in his own professional journey. "I had no carwash experience before entering this industry, but I knew I could learn. I also knew that for us to succeed, we had to surround ourselves with people who genuinely care about the development and well-being of others, not just people who can get a task done."

• The customer is usually right: The employee-first philosophy leads to a core principle: true customer-centricity is only possible when the employee experience comes first. "I often ask my team who the most important person is. They always say it's the customer, but that’s not right," says Ramadan. "The most important person is the employee. The guest is second. When you treat your team with dignity and respect, they will in turn treat the customer with that same dignity and respect."

For Ramadan, operational excellence begins long before the first car pulls in. Every piece of equipment, every sound, every motion inside the tunnel signals respect—or neglect—to the customer. That's where daily discipline comes in.

• Can't just brush it off: "Every piece of equipment in there should be functional. If you pass one of the brushes and it’s not moving, that sticks with you," he says. "You might still have a shiny car, but you’ll feel like you didn’t get the full service you paid for. To the person sitting in that car, that one broken brush matters," he says.

• Makes cents: That’s why his teams start each day with full equipment checks and a focus on the smallest details. "We teach that if one thing is off, it can turn a five-star visit into a three-star one. You focus on the pennies, and the dollars will come."

A culture built on such principles needs to be actively sustained. He uses public recognition to reinforce the behaviors he values, and stresses the importance of a leader's composure when challenges arise.

• Calm, cool, collected: "Ensure that the team doesn't feel demoralized when you are identifying opportunities for improvement. If a leader projects panic when things go wrong, the battle is already lost," Ramadan says. To him, composure is part of the same daily discipline that defines great leadership. A steady presence keeps teams focused, turns setbacks into lessons, and proves that real control comes from calm, not command.

In this model, a key measure of success is the pride and capability a team feels long after their leader has left. Problems will need to be solved, but the lasting impact is found in the team's confidence and morale. "It’s not what you say; it’s how you leave them feeling when you leave. Even after you’ve identified a problem that needs to be fixed, the team should feel great about what happened and ready to move forward," Ramadan concludes.